Pattaya: Uber to be run out of town but taxis ordered to turn on meters - or else!

[Thian]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

or else!

O else the police chief will eat his hat live on camera with only nam prick...

[SpeakeasyThai]

Great news. I am sure Taxis will comply and always utlilise their meter from now on. No more getting ripped off and threatening me with the Police or violence. 

But wait, there are men with white jackets coming up my garden path about to throw a butterfly net over me!

[Awinkl]

Uber and Grab would not have made such a world-wide impact, if normal Taxi drivers  would have "behaved" Price-wise and not became over expensive. It was only then, that Uber became viable - because their pricing remained "reasonable"!! And now, Taxi drivers scream - it's their own Fault.

[soistalker]

What about the "taxi" drivers in front of Big C extra on Pattaya Klang? They don't even have real taxis. But they will take your real money.

[soistalker]

And if you get into a taxi and expect that they will turn on the meter,  you are very mistaken.

Once you are in the taxi, you'll pay what they want you to pay or you'll get verbally and/or physically assaulted.

[Thian]

The taxi-maffia was always one of the reasons i didn't wanna go to Pattaya....and all the rentalgirls were the reason for my wife to not go.

 

Same goes for Phuket.

 

But those bahtbuses in Pattaya are also very annoying  because they horn all the time.

 

Well who cares? Other countries are much more fun to spend a holiday. 

[Blackheart1916]

Or else.....what?

[IAMHERE]

Money or intimidation or blackmail ? Got to wonder the reasoning that went into this decision.

[Get Real]

2 hours ago, dotpoom said:

Not for the Taxi drivers and their families?

Then they should have been following rules and used taxi meter from start. Why have feelings for the original scammer?

[Deez]

Why don't they make the fines for no meter, refusing fares etc the same as the Uber fines? 2000 Baht 3 month suspension?  

[Get Real]

14 minutes ago, soistalker said:

What about the "taxi" drivers in front of Big C extra on Pattaya Klang? They don't even have real taxis. But they will take your real money.

As you can read they are trying to fix the problem

 

12 minutes ago, soistalker said:

And if you get into a taxi and expect that they will turn on the meter,  you are very mistaken.

Once you are in the taxi, you'll pay what they want you to pay or you'll get verbally and/or physically assaulted.

Please see the comment above......

[darren84310]

Great.... I'm looking forward to getting in a taxi in Pattaya (something I've never done outside of Bangkok or Ubon)..... and seeing if they use the meter. If they don't I'll ask them to turn it on...... I'm sure they will.

[Pattaya46]

20 minutes ago, soistalker said:

What about the "taxi" drivers in front of Big C extra on Pattaya Klang? They don't even have real taxis. But they will take your real money.

Unsure what you are talking about ??

I know only 3 types of "taxi" at BigC Xtra:

1. bahtbus,
2. blue-yellow taxi,
3. bahthbus following the BigC delivery system (right at the door of BigC)

You could had Uber cars but they don't wait for customers there; yo have to call them.

 

[DeeMak9]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

One huge benefit of Uber/Grab is the ability to call for a car from your phone.  Really nice for those of us who don't live in Central Pattaya. Where all the metered taxis seem to sit.

 

Not only that, most of them are even too lazy or spoiled to come to east Pattaya. Uber is a blessing for us here. As long is they are driving, illegally or not, I will be using them.

[PerkinsCuthbert]

Use the meter! Mmmmmwwwaaaahahaha.

[Bartman1369]

If anyone even slightly believes anything will change then we are all very mistaken. The Government said they would fix this 18 months ago. I even saw some police and a camera crew at the Soi watboon Roundabout making a video about meter taxis. Nothing changed and ever will. I have used Uber once to travel the length of Theprassit an illegal working baht bus wanted 200 baht Uber want 90. Where is the website or email address to send your taxi complaints to???

 

If they want an increased fare rate so be it but use the meter. All they want to do is sit around all day and wait for a unknowing farrang to charge minimum 200 baht.

 

Bring back UBER. In China they use something similar to Grab Cab and it works well. Only problem I can't use it because it is only in Chinese.

 

Del amitri "Nothing ever happens" !!!

[stanleycoin]

I believe the, turning on the Taxi meter,   could be  fake news 

from one of Thailand's  top secret troll farms in the Chonburi area 

Edited September 28, 2017 by stanleycoin

[InMyShadow]

"Turn meters on or else"

What does that even mean

[Shiver]

I've never used Uber and rarely have 'need' to use Taxis of any kind (though I would sometimes if they were metered for certain journeys), but what I'm wondering now is, can a meter taxi also be an Uber taxi?  After all, we know a 'meter' taxi is usually an unmetered taxi.

 

Instead of 'driving' them out of town, be an Uber with meter taxi privileges (eg. colour of vehicle, roof sign etc).

 

I'm guessing the answer is that they don't own their own car, but if people who want to be taxis act as a hive mind, mafia, as powerful as they can be intimidating an individual, wouldn't really stand a chance if nobody needed to be under their racket.

In the meantime my ever attentive missus will get me around to friends on the bike when I want to see a friend in a nearby village for a couple of cold ones, and as soon as she gets around to getting her license she can have a new car (with 'personal taxi' obligations of course).

[Shiver]

1 minute ago, InMyShadow said:

"Turn meters on or else"

What does that even mean

It's Thailogic:

 

If <condition1> then <action1>
   Else_If <condition2> then <action2>
Else <no_action>
End_If

Or summink like that, depends on your language, code cleanliness, and...what was the question again?

 

 

[2008bangkok]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

4. Regarding the view that Pattaya taxis face hardship because fees they can charge are too low leading to not turning on the meter. "We have put this issue at the top of the agenda for discussion and possible change", he told the taxi drivers.

 

 

 

Well get another job then if you face hardship being a taxi driver!!! Not turning on the meter is illegal in a metered tax.

What the taxis are basically saying is "If we cannot charge what we want and rip of customers we cannot live" so in that case let Uber take the fare!

 

It's so engrained in Thai society to rip off westerners by charging more that even officials are trying to find away round it without breaking the law.

Edited September 28, 2017 by 2008bangkok

[murraynz]

i have never had a problem with taxi drivers in pattaya--if they quote too much-i just walk away-most times they reduce quote..what amazes me the numbers of pickup trucks and non signwritten vehicles, that are used as taxis- do they have to be licienced,even the drivers wear mufti ,not licenced??   i have never had any problem with these people though..likewise with motor bike taxis--many of them dont display id.

the authorities should be ensuring ALL  drivers are licenced.

[elnet1]

Turning on taxi meters is not a magic solution. Whats to say the taxi driver won't go the long way to get to your destination?  It happened to me in Bangkok a couple of years ago, I was not in the mood to be dragged to suit shop or jewel shop, etc, and I got into a taxi out front of my hotel. I asked the driver to use the meter and then told him I was all shopped out. The driver proceeded to drive me around a square and I probably wouldn't have noticed, but going around a couple of times, the traffic stopped I threw what was on the meter and then got out of the cab.

[Bartman1369]

My experiences with metered taxis are shameful. Worst one being. :-

 

I had to travel to the airport so booked my Bus from Jomtien station for the next day. The Morning of travelling I went the hive 2nd road opposite Atlantis condo in the pouring rain to book a taxi for 2 km to go to the bus station 1 hour later. Agreed the 200 baht begrudgingly. Waited for my taxi which never turned up and had to go out in the rain again to ask where was my Taxi? had to use a different taxi but at least this time they arrived at the door of my condo. Arrived at the bus station 5 minutes late for my paid for bus ticket. Then I had to pay 1800 baht to get to the Airport. I could have travelled direct to the airport from my Condo for 1200.

 

Hence the reason I share the same level of annoyance of Extremely lazy Pattaya taxi drivers.

 

There is almost always 5 drivers sat there at any 1 time and this is not a busy shopping centre. They are probably waiting for Chinese customers from the Pattaya Beach Hotel.

 

I don't believe though it is the taxi drivers that are choosing not to use their meters. I think that it instructed upon them by "Their Godfathers".

[cardinalblue]

Are Thai men a little afraid of competition?

[OMGImInPattaya]

They don't want to use the meters because the rates are too low...how is operating a taxi more expensive in Pattaya than Bangkok?

[LadyBytes]

If enforced, they will do what they are doing in BKK now and use fake meters. I got caught with one of these ticking over at speed, fare normally around 50-60 baht to where I was going was instead 280 baht. I told him as it was ticking over that I didn't believe it, but what can you do? Only went a few blocks but had a disabled person with me. Taxi from same hotel to BTS next day was 59 baht. At least he knows I knew it was a scam, but guessing he is getting away with it.

[Bob12345]

Why don't they make the fines for no meter, refusing fares etc the same as the Uber fines? 2000 Baht 3 month suspension?  

Because the goal of the meeting and the announcement was to give the taxi mafia its turf back while pretending to clean up the city, not helping consumers or really cleaning up the city.

If media attention blows over, which most likely will happen without street fights, everything will be back to normal.

If media attention persists they can have a second meeting, a commission, agreements, discussions, fact-finding missions, talks, and negotiations all in the hope media attentiin will blow over.

What they dont want is making concrete promises that can be checked and which can come back to the people in power who will then lose face.

[Lupatria]

Find one single honest taxi driver in Pattaya and make him the chief of police, mayor, or governor!

[jay1980]

2 hours ago, SidJames said:

I was down in Bangkok a few years ago & went to get a taxi from a rank by soi cowboy.

He wanted double what we had paid to get there & then explained that he doesn't get the extra but pointed to the cop that was stood watching over that corner & explained that they have to pay him a set fee for every fare that they pick up from that rank as it was 'his' & that was the extra that we had to pay to get in any cab from that rank.

Just walk up Asok a few meters past the 7/11 toward Pullman hotel or down a few meters to the corner of Sukhumvit and pick up a taxi driving by, they will normally be using the meter, the ones parked up by cowboy are police controlled and looking to extort high prices from anyone who doesn't know any better.